Machines with more than one component that transfer large amounts of data by electronic means such as computers necessarily are connected by a plurality of wires. It has become common to make connections between computer component cables by use of standardized plugs. Typically, a male plug on one end of a component cable with a plurality of wires, commonly referred to as pins, is plugged into a female receptacle on a first component. There is typically another plug on the other end of a component cable that can be inserted into a receptacle on a second component. By this arrangement, the first component and the second component can electronically communicate via the component cable.
A problem with such connections is that the connections can become dislodged during routine use. To resolve the problem of disconnection, a means of fixing the plug and the receptacle together was devised and is employed in a vast majority of computer cable plug connections. The solution is to attach a pair of posts with interior threads to a component, one post on either side of the receptacle. The receptacle is also attached to the component. A pair of bolts designed to mate with the interior threads attached to the component is attached to the male plug. The bolts are free to turn, but when the bolts are tightened into the interior threads, the plug is forced against the receptacle. The head of the bolts urge the plug toward the posts with interior threads when the bolts are tightened.
In early designs, the heads of the bolts were conventional bolt heads that required a wrench or screwdriver to tighten. However, later designs replaced conventional bolt heads with finger operable bolt heads. To provide a greater gripping surface for an operator to grasp, the later designs provided a lengthened bolt head. The lengthened bolt head, as shown in FIG. 1, creates a space 100 bordered on three sides by parts of the plug or the cable. This space effectively forms a hook.
In the ordinary connection and use of computer components, it is likely that connection cables will become twisted about one another and will intersect with one another. It is also common for a cable to require disconnection and removal from a computer component. This may occur in situations where a component is to be repaired or replaced or in situations where an entire system is to be moved. Because components are usually hooked near the back of a computer system, it is often difficult to access the full length of a cable to be disconnected. Therefore, to remove the cable, the cable may first be detached from a component and then pulled by the cable from the cable's opposite end past the other cables and the edges of the computer components and other machinery. The parts of a typical plug when pulled through the maze of cables, components, and machinery then snag and prevent the cable from being removed as planned. The hook formed by the lengthened bolt head, plug, and cable works as a grappling hook to snag any obstruction coming within the space 100 within the bolt head, plug, and cable.
Another factor contributing to the snagging of cables removed in the manner described above is choice of material from which a plug is constructed. An optimal material should be durable, but should not have a finish with a high coefficient of friction.
The prior art has failed to supply a product that is both operable without the use of tools and provides a structure that resists snagging when pulled past obstructions by the cable. U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,242 illustrates a structure with a reduced susceptibility to snagging. However, the device shown requires a tool for operation such as a screwdriver. U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,401 shows a structure with finger-operable screws. However, the structure disclosed in the '401 patent is not effective at reducing a propensity to hook or snag when the plug is pulled past obstructions by the cord. In fact, the structure disclosed in the '401 patent is not intended to limit snagging when being pulled by the cord. The '401 patent merely discloses a means of connecting a plurality of cords and an additional circuit board to a computer component. Not only are the back edges of the plug squared so as to create obstacles, but also the bolt heads extend out beyond the body and create obstructions.
An improved device, therefore, would provide a covering over the elongated bolt heads in order to eliminate the spaces 100 as described above. In an improved structure, the bolts or latching members would be operable without the use of tools. Additionally, an improved device would have rounded comers facing an anticipated direction of pull for the cable so that squared surfaces would not hook on other cables, components, or machinery. Furthermore, an improved device would be constructed of a durable material, but also a material that has a relatively low coefficient of friction.